Over the weekend at the Penny-Arcade hosted PAX EAST 2011 event in Boston, Hi-Rez Studios announced Tribes: Ascend, another new game in the Tribes series, the classic shooter franchise for which they obtained the rights to last year.

Ascend is not to be confused with the previously announced Tribes: Universe as both games are still supposedly in the works at Hi-Rez. Hi-Rez Studios COO Todd Harris explains the situation in the press release:

"Tribes fans appreciate the game's essence - athletic FPS combat combined with teamwork and strategy. As we began development of Tribes Universe, we focused first on capturing that essence - refining and modernizing iconic elements like jetpacks, skiing, and vehicles. We’ve had tremendous fun play-testing and realized the potential of a multiplayer focused title ahead of Tribes Universe. The community has been waiting for a multi-player shooter that is the modern successor to T2. Tribes: Ascend is that game."

So to clarify, Tribes Universe aims to be more massively-multiplayer, supporting 100 players in a single map, whereas Tribes Ascend will be a more traditional multiplayer title more akin to the original Tribes games.

Tribes: Ascend is due as a digital download title on PC and Xbox 360 with "additional platforms currently under consideration (likely PS3 and Mac) in "late 2011".

I loved Tribes 2 so if it's even close to as good I'll be all over it.I still class Tribes 2 as the best FPS I ever played and certainly the most fun. It's a shame it didn't last longer than it did although I do believe there are still servers around.